What If?
by Dawn Totadile
Summary: What if Mr. Peabody had not been allowed to keep Sherman? What would've happened to them both? Here is my story based off what little I know about them from the cartoon series and clips from the movie… yeah, haven't been able to see the movie yet :P Hope ya like what I do know, I found clips and I loved the shorts series of them. I really want to watch the movie though :P
1. Chapter 1: Depressed Genius

**"…Sherman!"**

**"…Dad…!"** The voices swirled in his memories as he recalled losing his son. He had almost always refused to be called dad because he was afraid of something like this happening. He didn't want Sherman to become so attached to him that if he had to give him up he'd be alright with that. He just hadn't realized that he would get so attached to the boy now too.

Sherman had been dragged out of the court room while Mr. Peabody was held back by Animal Control, all the while, both crying in despair. Poor Sherman couldn't have been expected to understand. When Sherman was out of the room, Mr. Peabody broke down crying on his knees. He had just lost the only human to ever care for him, or that he himself had ever cared for. He couldn't handle this, being alone for the rest of his life while his little boy was taken care of by strangers.

He awoke from his memories and went back to his work. That had been years ago, he was sure that Sherman had forgotten about him now. He hadn't been allowed to see the boy since that day. He put a paw to his heart, he had been fighting to survive since that day. It had taken a greater toll on him than anyone could've predicted. His heart was now barely ticking as it was and he rarely did anymore visits to the past for fear of being reminded of his boy. His latest experiment was to make an element for Sherman. It was to be the power source for anything that Sherman would make or need in his lifetime. Shermanium was to be the name of the elemental power source.

As he finished the element, he wrote up the instructions to make it and a letter to his boy, as well as a note for himself. He then once more placed his paw on his heart and sighed. He was running out of time. "I'm sorry, Sherman… I failed you…" He then made his way to a cryogenics chamber that he had set up in case of such problems. He took off his glasses and bow tie and placed them on the table and then closed the door on himself to the chamber. "Forgive me,… my son…" He was frozen within seconds. He was no longer allowed to see his boy, but he was hoping that when they found him, they'd let Sherman know that he was given all of his worldly possessions. He loved that boy.


	2. Chapter 2: Hope in Depression

Sherman was an adult now, and a usually distant one at that. He didn't like to interact with people. Instead, he preferred working with animals. He was a doctor and a veterinarian. He heard about his adoptive father's condition over the phone when a lawyer had called him to discuss the will. "Hello… is this Mr. … Sherman?"

"It is… might I ask who's calling?" Sherman was tired. He had been feeling tired for years now, ever since they had taken him from his father. Every family they had tried to place him in had ended up in disaster. No one, it seemed, wanted a young genius, no one, save for a genius dog by the name of Mr. Peabody. He had just come out of age where he needed to be a state ward. When asked what last name he wanted he simply wrote down the only one he ever wanted, "Peabody".

"This is Mr. Harmon, I'm a lawyer and I've been asked to inform you about Mr. Peabody, he's…" He stumbled a bit here, unsure of how the young man would react. He had read some of the files, but was still unsure as to what this boy had seen out of the dog, as were many others, but there were a few who understood a little bit about what was so great. Not many though, knew the real Mr. Peabody.

"When did it happen and where?" Sherman sighed. He felt his own heart for a second. It pounded weakly. His father was gone.

"He's in some sort of ice chamber in his apartment still, we couldn't get him out of there. He left you everything, including a set of letters and a new element which he had named 'Shermanium.' I don't understand why though."

"He's my father, he wanted me to have what I needed to live, even without him there to guide me." Sherman sighed in a little relief when he heard about the cryogenic chamber. It meant there was a chance he could be saved. He once more looked at his watch. "I'll be at the apartment to look him over as well as anything else there before tomorrow. Please be advised that I will know if anything is missing from my father's apartment. I know him better than any of you would ever believe." He hung up the phone and started towards his car. He was going home.

He arrived there just after six at night. He let himself up to the penthouse and reached into his pocket for his house key, something that had not been taken away from him when they took him. When he opened the door he did not know what to expect. What he found was a dusty apartment in which his room was the only clean one in the whole place. He made his way towards Mr. Peabody's lab and sighed as he found the cryogenics chamber. He did a scan to see what was wrong with the old white beagle and evaluated the problem. He had a weakened heart, much like Sherman, from depression and loneliness as well as a kidney that needed to be replaced, thankfully there were cloned organs for such an emergency. Sherman thawed his father out and had him on a medical bed that was always in the lab in case of such problems.

He then read over the letter that had been left for him. He was to receive the WABAC, as his father had called the time machine. It was like a large red ball ironically enough, since his father was no normal dog. He put the letter down after reading the plea from his father. Mr. Peabody had asked him to go back in time and go to the trial, as there had been no lawyer to help him keep Sherman; he wanted him to help him. He smirked though as he had read his father assuring him that it was all his choice if his life was in fact better without him. It wasn't.


	3. Chapter 3: The Doctor Is In

Mr. Peabody awoke slowly aware that he was hooked up to an IV bag in a medical bag. He slowly realized that someone had been working hard to save his life. But why, for his mind? He was tired of trying to help a race that wouldn't even let him keep his son, he wasn't in the mood to help the world. He would've rather gone back in time and died in the Trojan war or some other foolish fight. He felt useless. He noticed a young man was sitting nearby and that there was some blood on his gloves. Apparently he had just done some surgery on him. He looked over to a notepad that had his condition on it. "Suffering from Broken Heart and bad kidney. Status: Replaced kidney successful. Heart condition: Unknown". Mr. Peabody couldn't help but groan at that.

His groan had the unwanted effect of waking his doctor. The young man lifted his head, hair still covered in a hair net and his eyes covered with a set of safety goggles. Mr. Peabody felt so weak he could barely move. "How are you feeling Mr. Peabody?" The man's voice was calm with a hint of worry in it. The doctor walked towards a sink and trashcan and removed his gloves. He then proceeded to wash his hands as the dog struggled to sit up. "Don't try to sit up, Mr. Peabody, it's not the wisest move at the moment, and I'm here by pure foolish luck." The doctor then threw his hair cap in the trash to reveal his red, spiked up hair.

"Who are you? Why are you…?" He started to struggle a little with breathing. The doctor handed him an oxygen mask and helped him to place it over his snout.

"…helping you? I have my reasons, Mr. Peabody. I'm just glad the surgery was successful. It helps that you cloned your major organs as a young pup. You needed a kidney transplant. I'll ask about that at a later date, but thankfully you had set up an emergency computer program that told me where to find the spare kidney." The doctor adjusted the pillows to make Mr. Peabody more comfortable. "You'll be off your paws for a few weeks."

"You mean my feet, I'm still considered a man by some people you know." He grumbled.

The doctor smirked, put the goggles to be washed in the sink, and placed a pair of thick black glasses on his eyes. "I know Mr. Peabody, but if you'll excuse me, I have a court case to get to. Then maybe you'll be feeling better."

"A court case? Who are you?" He could still barely see since his glasses were on a table next to the cryogenics chamber.

The doctor grimaced and grabbed the dog's glasses and his red bowtie. He carefully placed on the snout so he could be seen. "My name is Doctor Sherman Peabody, and I'm going to change the past."

"Sherman!" The dog gasped as he looked at him with surprise as he now recognized the young man in front of him. It was his little boy, but all grown up. "But how?" The grey furred beagle was now crying slightly.

"Everyone thinks you're dead so I was allowed to come back and look the place over. I'm going to fix this Mr. Peabody, don't worry." Sherman headed towards the door that would bring him to the WABAC. "I'll be back soon… I love you… dad…, don't forget that."

"I love you too … son." With that, Mr. Peabody fell into the first peaceful sleep in ages as he felt his heart start to heal.


	4. Chapter 4: In Court

Sherman ran all the way from the roof of the courthouse to the courtroom where the trial of his life was being held. He made it just in time to knock down the two men who were holding a little boy with spiky red hair and big, black glasses. They dropped the child quickly. "Come on Sherman, we have to stop this nonsense!" The two ran into the courtroom. "Your Honor, wait, I have one last testimony to give on behalf of Mr. Peabody and Sherman's case!" Little Sherman ran towards his father and nearly tackled him as he hugged him, the men having let go of him just seconds earlier.

Mr. Peabody was crying himself as he held the teary-eyed little boy in his arms and the two knelt down on the ground holding tight to each other. Mr. Peabody looked up at the man who was offering a testimony. He prayed with all his heart that this mysterious stranger would be able to help him keep his little boy.

"The decision has already been dealt, young man, you should have been here an hour ago." An arrogant Ms. Grunion exclaimed.

"Look, you try parking on the roof with a giant red ball of a time machine! See how easily that is! Now please, your honor, let me say my peace. You have to let Sherman stay with Mr. Peabody! You have nothing to lose by listening to me and everything to gain by doing so!" Peabody's eyes widened with fear and shock as he realized who the young man was.

"Just who are you, young man?" The judge asked. He was willing to let them stay together, if they had enough on their side to prove Peabody to be a good enough father.

The young man sighed and glanced at the two figures who were holding tightly to each other. Peabody gripped his son tighter, afraid that he was about to be taken away again. The young man then took out his wallet, a letter for the judge from Mr. Peabody's future self, and a small envelope addressed to Mr. Peabody. He handed his ID card to the judge and said, "I am Doctor Sherman Peabody. I came from the future in my father's time machine, the WABAC. I think I deserve the chance to explain what the young Sherman will go through if you take him away from Mr. Peabody." The whole room gasped.

The young Sherman looked at the man he would become and was scared. He didn't look happy, he looked tired. He looked like he was a poor man who had medical experience of some sort. He looked into his father's eyes and noticed the fear in them as well.

The judge looked over the ID and found it legit enough. "Alright, proceed, Doctor Peabody." Mr. Peabody grimaced. It seemed that Sherman was determined that no matter what, he would keep his name. Ms. Grunion shrieked at the "foolishness" as she called it. She couldn't believe that this was the little boy only older.

"Thank you, I bring to the court a letter from, in my time, the late Mr. Peabody." He was stretching the truth, but they didn't even know he was alive in his time, so they didn't need to know in this time. He handed letter from the envelope to the judge and then another to Mr. Peabody who tentively took the paper.

The Judge read off his paper: **_To the honorable judge of our trial, I am sorry you feel it within your judgment that I am not a good enough father figure for a boy that only I wanted. I wish that I could face you in person, but I have left directions for this to be brought here if my boy, and yes, I will forever call Sherman mine, does not like how his life has turned out without me. I may not have been the best of parents but please let me know, who is? I always heard of parents never being good enough. You're only human, and as you all love to put it, I am only dog. I can make mistakes like any other mammal. I did not have a good puppyhood myself and made it my responsibility to raise Sherman as best as I could. If you are reading this than it means that he thinks I was adequate enough for a father figure. Sincerely, Mr. Peabody._**

Having finished reading the letter out loud, the judge looked down at the young man in front of him. He looked exactly like Sherman, save for the innocent eyes no longer being there. "I suppose you thought he was good enough?"

Sherman glared at him and then signaled for Mr. Peabody and young Sherman to come towards him. "Sherman, tell the judge just how good a parent, Mr. Peabody is to you. You will find that we both had the same amount of time with him, though my coming here has already extended his time with him. I on the other hand have the experiences of dealing with fifteen foster homes and an orphanage before growing up. I earned all my degrees online and alone."

Young Sherman looked to Mr. Peabody who looked back at him scared. He realized that his dad was just as worried about losing him as he was. Sherman hugged him quickly and then stood up. Mr. Peabody stayed where he was as Sherman walked in front of the judge, careful not to touch his future self.

The younger took one last glance at his father and then stared straight at the judge. "He's my dad, there's not much to say. He's taken care of me, listened to me, raised me, all on his own. Sure we go back in time often to meet people, but they're friends, he's never taken me to anywhere dangerous, and we've met some of the most amazing people in history! We've gone through things that you could only dream of or imagine! My dad is the most amazing person in history and he's taken care of me while helping all sorts of people! He's always there for me and he's never made me feel unimportant to him. If that doesn't show commitment to being my dad, I don't know what does!" Sherman nearly shouted at the judge as his father's eyes widened.

Mr. Peabody had had no clue that his son had thought of him like this. He had always assumed that he had thought it was a burden to have a dog for a father. Just then the Ms. Grunion who had from the child care agency shouted "He's a filthy dog, and a dog is no fit guardian for a boy!"

Both Shermans looked towards Mr. Peabody and then to each other and nodded. They looked towards the crowd and the judge all at once and said in unison, "If being a dog means always being there when I need him…taking care of me through thick and thin… making sure that I'm alright by the end of the day, and being loyal no matter what craziness we get into… if that's what it means to be a dog… Then I'm a dog too!"

The younger Sherman walked back to his father's side and held him in a loving embrace while the older stood his ground. Mr. Peabody was shocked but held his little boy tightly nonetheless. He hadn't realized that Sherman thought about him like that. "You've heard both our pieces and if I have to, I can show you all the evidence I need to prove Mr. Peabody is the better alternative." His glare was cold, hard, and strong, unlike the boy who was tightly holding the white beagle with black glasses and a red bow tie.

The judge shook his head and smiled. "I think I've seen all I need to by the fact that you've actually come back in time to speak at this case. I rule in favor of Mr. Peabody keeping Sherman."

It was the biggest commotion since Peabody had originally adopted Sherman. The only one not happy with the results was Ms. Grunion who was quickly taken away after trying to assault Mr. Peabody and the older Sherman. Thankfully, the older Sherman had come prepared with a force field he had been developing. The younger smiled at the sight of it. "Well what do you know, it works."

The older Sherman managed to get the younger and their father out of the courtroom while the people were crowding in on the enraged Ms. Grunion. They reached the roof and all three entered the WABAC. "Where's your scooter?"

"I walked. I needed the air, but my goodness Sherman, do you realize what you've done?" Mr. Peabody looked at the young man with eagerness and fear that was fitting of someone who was still afraid of losing his child.

"You haven't read your letter to yourself then, I followed your orders to the letter, now let's get you home." Dr. Peabody smiled as he drove the WABAC carefully over the city towards the tallest apartment building in New York.

Mr. Peabody frowned slightly and then read the letter to himself, "**_Dear self, Peabody here, if you are reading this then hopefully you may be allowed to keep Sherman when I could not. My heart is failing me at the moment, and with all my knowledge, I can only deduce it's from my depression. I've noticed my kidney failing me also, and no, I'm not sure which one. I have left instructions for Sherman, should he wish to, to return to your time and see if he can stop them from separating us. My hope and heart goes with him as yours does for your Sherman, sincerely yours, Mr. Peabody._**" Mr. Peabody lowered the letter from his snout slowly and looked over towards his own Sherman who was so tired from the ordeal that he had fallen asleep in his chair. He sighed in relief. They had done it and he had gotten to keep Sherman. He could keep his son.


	5. Chapter 5: Get It Right This Time

Dr. Peabody parked the WABAC close enough to the roof of the apartment that Mr. Peabody was able to carry Sherman inside. Before going in, Mr. Peabody looked back at the grown up version of the young boy he carried in his paws and smiled. The doctor smiled back with a genuine smile and started up the WABAC. He needed to see what life had in store for him now.

Upon returning to his proper time, Sherman felt his entire being shudder as new memories came together with his old. He still remembered his original memories, but now he had a new set of memories to join them. He smiled. He still had a patient to deal with.

Sherman rode his father's scooter to the hospital and waited in the waiting room. He didn't have long to wait for the nurse to wheel out an old white beagle with black glasses and a red bowtie in a wheel chair. He still looked quite young for a dog of his considerable age. The dog smiled upon seeing Dr. Peabody waiting for him. Though he had been the one to perform the kidney transplant a few weeks ago, he thought it would be best to wait in the waiting room for his father. "Hello, Sherman."

Sherman smiled back and walked towards the dog. "Hello, Mr. Peabody. I'm afraid that I have to keep you home for a little time. You need time to recover."

Mr. Peabody grimaced, for he too remembered his previous life though he also had new memories with them. That was a side effect of the WABAC after all, or at least, for people who interact with it the most. "Very well, Sherman, after all, we have all the time in the world." In a way, he was right, they had all the time in the world, and with the WABAC to help them, he would never lose his boy again.


End file.
